The Magic Thieves (6 page)

Elryk moaned when their lips touched. When Kaythan licked along his mouth to ask for entrance, his lover opened to him immediately. Their tongues met and caressed each other with long, tender strokes. Kaythan's cock hardened and he could feel Elryk's response pushing against his thigh.

Elryk finally pulled back, panting for breath.

"I just want to make sure we both remain in perfect health.” The man grinned, showing his even, white teeth. “The humans have a very useful saying about this. Prevention is better than cure."

"Do they, now?” Kaythan grinned back. “I think I could grow to like them based on that saying alone."

"Mhm.” Elryk dove in for another kiss.

The heat between them ratcheted up more quickly than he'd thought possible. Pressing and rubbing their groins together until he'd found the perfect position, he continued to move with an urgency that was matched by Elryk's. He put his hand on the other man's ass cheeks to increase the pressure between them.

It wasn't enough.

With a groan he rolled them over so that Elryk was on his back. He was worried that he might be too heavy for the other man, but that lasted no longer than a few seconds. Elryk's legs parted and he took advantage by pushing even closer.

"Yes!” Elryk bared his neck, tendons standing out, as he pushed his head back into the pillow. “Just like that."

"Tah', you make me want.” He kissed up and down Elryk's throat, licking and sucking on the soft skin for good measure.

It made the other man's hips buck up. Elryk slid his arms around Kaythan's middle and held on. When Elryk started whimpering with need, he almost lost it. He pushed down harder, craving more friction. His movements became frantic and less rhythmic than before. His balls were so tight, he thought the skin might burst. Elryk brought his legs up around his waist, bringing their groins into closer contact. The slight pressure made him see stars and he grunted his release into Elryk's neck as he sprayed his seed between their bodies.

Elryk's response was immediate and no less heated. With a scream, the other man started coming, jerking his hips up hard enough to release aftershocks in Kaythan that made his entire body shake with pleasure.

"Shit, that was good.” Elryk grinned and slid his legs back down onto the bed, looking happy and sated.

"Better than ever before.” Kaythan rolled them to their sides, making sure their legs remained entangled and their bodies were in the closest possible contact. Touching Elryk's skin was quickly becoming necessary, almost like breathing. “If this is what it's like to be mated, I think I'm becoming a major fan real fast."

"I know.” Elryk sighed. “As important as all this is, though, I think we really do need to get cleaned up and go see your friend Arith. I
have
to find out what's going on with my magic, and as embarrassing as it is, I'll probably need his help with finding the Muyd'Othar."

"We'll go see him. I'm sure he'll be able to help you recover your magic as well as help us find the Magic Shield.” He pressed one last kiss onto Elryk's lips. “We can take my undetectable glider, so it won't take much time."

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Elryk wasn't sure that using a glider was such a good idea. It was a rather obvious way to travel. Kaythan had reassured him that it
was
undetectable, but the thought of the Xoh'kas catching them was too terrifying to take this lightly. What if they'd found a way to detect gliders that were supposed to be undetectable? He wouldn't put it past the Xoh'kas to mobilise absolutely everything in order to track him and Kaythan. They wouldn't tolerate the absence of a wanted criminal and a disserted Law Forces Commander for very long.

"Come on, I'll show you.” Kaythan led him through the house and out into the backyard.

"There's nothing here.” Elryk looked around, but there were only plants, a few birds and some insects.

"Right over there.” Kaythan pointed at an empty area.

"All I can see is grass, a few bushes and some old trees.” It was a beautiful garden, but that was all there was.

Kaythan grinned and pulled a small remote from his pocket.

"Watch this.” Kaythan pressed a button.

Elryk's eyes widened as the air shimmered and a sleek glider with wide wings and a pointed nose was revealed as if someone had pulled a blanket off its multicoloured surface. It was one of the most beautiful vehicles he'd ever seen. And it had been hidden well enough for absolutely nothing to show.

"The best part is that it's invisible to the naked eye
and
it's been covered with concealing spells that make it undetectable to any tracing devices the Xoh'kas have at their disposal. Arith used spells that are more advanced and far less well known than those most commonly available.” Kaythan pocketed the device and walked them towards the glider. “And in case you're wondering, we're the only ones able to see it right now. Using the remote only lifts the spell's effects for people within ten feet of it. Should anyone be watching from above or even just over the fence, they still won't have a clue that there's anything here other than the two of us, the plants and the animals."

Taking a deep breath and determined to trust his new mate and the air wizard who had put the spells on the glider, Elryk got inside, taking his seat behind Kaythan. His fear of heights didn't make the first part of the flight easy. He hated seeing the ground move farther and farther away. But as they rose high over the land, the greenery was beautiful and relaxed him. Elryk's level of trust grew as his spirits rose. Kaythan turned out to be a good pilot and the glider seemed to be working well.

The flight took them straight north. The few signs of civilisation that were still visible this far away from the capital city were quickly left behind, and Elryk watched the landscape become more and more rugged. Well-tended fields gave way to the occasional grazing area. The villages were smaller and smaller, then they were replaced with the odd lonely farmstead. Even those eventually stopped and the land below became hillier. Soon the first mountains appeared and deep, wooded ravines alternated with steep rock faces. Not a sign of people anywhere.

"It's not far now.” Kaythan handled the magic-imbued controls as if he'd never done anything else. “If you look straight ahead, you'll see a small cave to the left of the mountaintop, just above the tree line."

"Arith lives in a cave? I thought that was more of an earth wizard's territory.” Elryk stared at the hole in the rock as they approached and landed on the flat area in front of the cave's entrance. “At least he's well hidden from detection, even without any spells."

"No, he doesn't actually live in the cave.” Kaythan grinned, but didn't explain further.

It made Elryk wonder what his lover was hiding.

After they'd landed, they entered the cave, stooping low to avoid hitting their heads. Only very little daylight filtered in, and once Elryk's eyes had gotten used to the semi-darkness, he detected an old man in a white wizard's robe leaning against the back wall, right next to what looked like a thick patch of fog.
Huh
?

"My name is Arith. Please follow me.” The old man turned around without another glance and entered the fog, clearly expecting them to follow.

Elryk shrugged and fell in line behind Kaythan. Entering the foggy nothingness felt strange at first, but it wasn't cold or otherwise threatening, and he could still see both Arith and Kaythan walking ahead of him in the dim half-light, so he followed them.

The thick grey mass soon changed into a lighter variation of mist, and a soft glow from above made it seem as though they were walking through dense clouds with the sun trying to break through from above. Another few steps later, the thinning fog dissipated almost completely and the light from above became much stronger and more colourful.

Elryk tried not to stare at Arith as the ancient wizard led them along the strange path. The wrinkles all over his face and hands were unusual enough. But the gnarled fingers and bent posture were almost unheard of for a seer. The air magic that formed the core of his abilities should have minimised these overt signs of aging to make him look ageless.

Arith stepped through a glass door and moved aside. A huge, well-lit room stretched out in front of them, the sudden return of sunlight very welcome.

"Welcome to my sanctuary.” Arith grinned and suddenly looked about a hundred years younger.

He gestured around the room and Elryk gasped.

Perched atop what felt like a giant tree, the front and both side walls of the room were made of glass, a few leaved branches knocking on the windows on each side as the wind moved them. The view across a deep wooded gorge and a distant mountain range was breathtaking. When Elryk turned around the back wall was as rough as a bark-covered tree trunk.

"Quite amazing, isn't it?” Kaythan stepped closer to him, making him feel safe despite the height.

"How did we get here?” Surely they were no longer inside the cave.

"That's right, your magic isn't working, so you wouldn't have noticed.” Arith sank into a comfortable armchair near the front of the room. It almost swallowed his fragile looking body. “We passed quite a few layers of protective and concealing spells. They're necessary to hide this place from the Xoh'kas as well as the magic thieves and anyone else who would like to pry into my affairs."

"How did you know my magic isn't working?” Elryk frowned.

Arith winked.

"Uhm, okay, you're a seer, but even Kaythan and I only found out a few hours ago.” Elryk was worried who else might know about his problem. If any of the wizards on the Magic Council had detected him and his lack of magic, he was in bigger trouble than he'd thought so far.

"Please, sit down.” Arith motioned to a sofa across from his armchair. “This will take a while."

Elryk took a seat and Kaythan followed, putting a protective arm around his shoulders. The contact reduced the slight pulling sensation in his groin immediately. Tah', but this mate bond would take some getting used to.

"Let me get to the point.” Arith sat up and ran a hand through his shoulder length white hair. “The formation of the first mate bond in over two hundred years has activated the Muyd'Zel."

"The Magic Key?” Elryk sat up. “That's the second legendary magical object to suddenly reappear from the shrouding mists of history. And how would the formation of a mate bond be noticed? Isn't the Muyd'Zel an inanimate object? What in Tah's name is going on?"

"I'm getting to that.” Arith shook his head. “You young ones are always so impatient. Right. Where was I? Oh, yes. Two hundred years ago, when the Xoh'kas family took over, they had an ally inside the Magic Council. He was the last Lightning Grand Master known to us and his name was Rhunnyt Bak'omir."

"That's right.” Kaythan nodded. “I remember reading about him in the history books."

"Apparently I'm the first lightning wizard in many years to have shown the same sort of potential to advance from Great Wizard to Grand Master level and join the Council.” Elryk winced. He'd rather have gone unnoticed, like he had before the Xoh'kas had discovered him at the magic school he'd been teaching at. “That potential was the reason why the Xoh'kas were so interested in having me under their control once they had retested me."

"You're right. But that potential was a total surprise to the Xoh'kas. You were the only one to somehow evade their earlier detection. All other candidates in the last two-hundred years have been killed as soon as the ritual of Muyd'pol, at the age of five, showed that they might be strong enough to become Grand Masters.” Arith's eyes flashed with anger.

"Why would they kill all those young lightning wizards?” Elryk felt nauseous. What a horrible thing for them to do.

"Because they needed the Magic Council to be weak.” Arith sighed. “Only a lightning wizard has parts of all the other types of magic inside him, plus his own. That's why he can unite and strengthen the Council members to enable them to effectively check and balance the Ruling Assembly's activities. Without a lightning wizard to lead the Council for so long, the leaders had to be chosen from among the fire, water, earth and air wizards. With the magic thieves now stealing magic on top of this inherent flaw, the Council has been weakened to the point where it is totally ineffective and the Ruling Assembly, under the leadership of the Xoh'kas, remains unopposed."

"So how does this link to the Muyd'Zel?” Elryk wiggled in his seat. This story was fascinating, but Arith was taking too long to get to the really interesting points.

"Patience, my son.” Arith grinned and leant back in his armchair. “One of the things Rhunnyt did was banish the Muyd'Othar, or Magic Shield, from the real world into the magic realm. This left the Magic Council open to attacks, further strengthening the Xoh'kas’ hold on them. Once Rhunnyt had created the hiding place he was executed by the Xoh'kas."

"That was very clever of them.” Kaythan nodded. “They effectively weakened the Magic Council, the only group able to oppose them, then made sure that group would never recover."

"Exactly.” Arith lifted his hand. “But what they hadn't counted on was some of the wizards outside the Magic Council. Those ‘rebellious’ wizards knew that the Magic Shield would be needed to restore the power of the Council at some point. They were hoping to give the right person the tools to do so. Hence, they created the Muyd'Zel, the purpose of which is to help its owner find and use the Shield."

"Let me guess—the right person is Elryk?” Kaythan's grip on Elryk's shoulders tightened.

Arith nodded.

"And this expedition to find the Magic Key will be dangerous.” Kaythan growled.

Arith nodded again.

"I'm sure you'll keep me safe.” Elryk patted Kaythan's thigh and grinned inwardly at his mate's protectiveness. He could take care of himself, well, once his magic was back he'd be in control again, but it was nice to have someone else's support. He'd missed that.

"You bet your sweet little—ahem—on that.” Kaythan's eyes twinkled wickedly.